Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-10-07

LINel l. ACHIEVEMENTS IN TRADE.
Kn wledge of Foreign Languages Needed
In Ca.r.narca-Ihe German Merchant.

Kn wIedge of Foreign Languages Needed
in Commerce-The German Merchant
Every large town in the midland re-
pion of America-in truth, every large
town throughout the entire country-has
a greater or less percentage OF German
citizens, varying from 10 to 40 per cent,
and in many cities the school commits
sioners have made a concession to the
German element by including the Ger
man language among the branches taught
in the public schools. By this course the
fact has been established that not only
the children of German parents have de-
rived a benefit. but that the studious boys
and girls of other nationalities have
profited by this opportunity for acquiring
German. Experience has shown that this
twofold acquisition of language, by prac-
teal use, is of very decided utility to the
children who embrace it, and the latter
make much more rapid progress than
such as are taught by means of one Ian
guage exclusively. In many countries
they would esteem themselves peculiarly
fortunate in possessing such an advantage
that is to say, majority of the pupils
bringing with them into the school at
least superficial knowledge of two Ian
guages. Such an opportunity would be
sedulously cultivated, just as the French
has been cultivated in the French and
WALTON provinces for fully 200 years.
Not so, however, in our own country.
Here, the German tongue has had to con-
tend constantly against prejudice or di-
rect hostility. If one takes into consider
alton the fact that a considerable proper
nft ha snc fo1 in 70 txrn
tongues later in life enter commercial
vocations, this aversion to German will be
regarded as unwise and suicidal. The Ger
man language is the second most widely
spoken on the face of the globe, and a man
who understands it well, together with the
English, can today engage in business
as a commercial traveller in any country
that is not European. The trade, for ex-
ample, of Mexico and Central America is
in the hands of German firms, whose
members were educated from their boy
hood for their, future profession, by being
compelled to acquire Spanish, at the same
time with their mother tongue and often
English and French besides. If an Amer
lean commercial traveller should enter
into conversation with such a merchant,
in Guatemala or San Salvador, in his
mother tongue, bond of fellowship is at
once established, which is very likely to
bear fruits.
A nation that in our day wishes to
enjoy consideration in the markets of the
world must possess polyglot acquire
ments. For this reason Germans sue
coed in all parts of the world, whilst
Englishmen or Frenchmen are complain
=
man imperial government encourages
these efforts in all directions and last
winter the permanent establishment Of
an oriental department in the Berlin
university was decided upon, not less as
a measure for the promotion of COM
merce than as facility for learned in
vestigatiOn. The German trades organ,
Export. thus expresses itself upon this
subject: To-day it is no longer sufficient
to understand English and French; the
period in which the German merchant
supposed he had acquired a knowledge
sufficient of foreign languages in possess
ing these two, is long past" At present
a large and active commerce throughout
the whole globe has been established.
The long locked up countries of Africa
have been thrown open to the world
Asia is everywhere accessible. Now, for
the first time, our minds fully realize how
numerous is mankind-how multiform
are nations and how many tongued like
wise. Even in India, whose sovereignty
resides in the hands of Great Britain,
there is only very small minority that
can speak more than a word or two of
English
The merchant of modern times must, to
be successful, understand foreign tongues
the more the better. and the school
authorities, instead of acting as the dog
in the Manager should afford to the rising
generation every opportunity to acquire
them, especially where this can be done
at the expenditure of so little time and
cost as is attached to the acquisition of
German in most of our cities, by the
system indicated Translated for Public
Opinion from the Baltimore Correspon-
dent.